Well im picking up the heat matt and stat off my bro tomorrow. he has a spare. I will set the tub up and see how it looks.

My main concern is the reduced amount of light in the tub. But i guess if they live in borrows it wouldn't mind it being fairly dark in there.

I use heavy dog bowls so the water will not be spilt.

I have two weeks to get my tub running properly so im not concerned with being able to see in all the time.

I normally change the water daily and thats enough of a look if the tub is set up correctly I.M.O.